Mounting bracket for blower assembly



Dec. 1, 1964 D. M. MULLINGS MOUNTING BRACKET FOR BLOWER ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 16, 1963 INVENTOR.

DONALD M. MULLINGS rue H l S ATTORNEY United States Patent O Sulfihfllilil MOUNTTN'G BRACKET FOR EELOWEF. AilSEMBLY Donald M. Mailings, iiarrlle Pin, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. ltd, 1963, Ser. No. 369,940 41- (Claims. Cl. l3il=-235) The present invention relates to a blower assembly and particularly to a design of mounting bracket for supporting an electric motor in operative relation within an inlet opening of a blower housing.

Air moving apparatus of the blower type, which incorporates a rotatable radial-type or squirrel cage fan member within a scroll housing is in widespread usage, particularly'in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning field. One preferred type of such apparatus includes a blower housing that has an inlet opening at each end and a blower wheel located at the housing and supported on the drive shaft of an electric motor that is positioned in one of the inlet openings of the housing. A cage-like mounting bracket is fastened in the housing inlet and it suspends the motor in the center of the inlet opening.

The principal ob iect of the present invention is to provide an improved mounting bracket for the motor of a blower apparatus of the class described where the bracket is of rigid construction to serve as a universal design for difierent size motors and blowers.

- A further object of the present invention is to provide a mounting bracket of the class described for clamping the motor axially between a pair of end cups of the bracket by use of resilient sleeve members, as well as preventing the rotation of the motor with respect to the bracket.

The present invention, in accordance with one form thereof, relates to a blower assembly comprising a housing and a blower wheel located in the housing that is sup ported on the drive shaft of a motor that is positioned in an inlet opening at One end of the blower housing. The novelty resides in an adjustable mounting bracket for the motor which includes a pair of spaced end cups that are joined together by a series of radially spaced supporting arms, where the supporting arms are fabricated of telescoping channel members to obtain the necessary rigidity and adjustability desired for a universal type of mounting bracket. The end cups are adapted to be fitted over boss portions at the ends of the motor and a resilient sleeve is interposed between each end cup and the boss portion. Means areprovided to prevent the rotation of the motor with respect to the bracket by placing the end cups under'compression axially against the motor.

This invention represents an improvement over the prior art that is exemplified by the Burrowes Patent No. 2,686,630 which issued on August 17, 1954.

My invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accomblower housing, it being understood that ordinarily there would also be a right hand inlet opening;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary exploded view of the motor mounting bracket showing in detail the end cups, a resilient sleeve member of the type which cooperates with each end cup, and one of the supporting arms join- 3,159,1h8 Patented Dec. 1, 1964 "ice ing the end cups and iorrned by separable parts of channel-shaped cross-section;

FIGURE '4 is a fragmentary view of the mounting bracket showing in detail the cooperation between a boss portion on the motor for receiving the resilient sleeve that is compressed by the end cup of the mounting bracket.

Turning to a consideration of the drawing and in particular to FIGURE 1 there is shown a blower assembly 10 which is attached to a supporting wall 11, as for example the wall enclosing a heat exchanger (not shown) of a warm air furnace. This blower assembly It) includes a rotatable radial-type fan member 12 as best seen in FIGURE 2, an electric motor 13 for driving the blower wheel and a scroll-shaped blower housing 14 from which the motor 13 is suspended by means of a novel mounting bracket 15. The scroll-shaped blower housing 15 is formed by a pair of parallel end walls 16 and 17 and a curved side Wall 18 that has a scroll configuration. Each end wall 16 and 17 is provided with a circular air inlet opening 19, and the blower wheel 12 is illustrated as a double inlet blower wheel having a transverse partition 20 that divides the blower wheel into a pair of single inlet wheels 21 and 2 2. v

The drive motor 13 is provided with an output shaft 24 which is fastened to the center of the partition Ztl of the blower wheel as by element 25. Hence, the blower wheel 12 is entirely supported by the drive shfit 24 of the motor, and .the motor partially extends into the interior of one of the single inlet wheels such as 21 as shown. The motor 13 is positioned in one of the air inlet openings of the blower housing such as the left hand opening 19 in the end wall 16 of the housing. The diameter of the motor is smaller'than the diameter of the inlet opening 19 so that there is provided an annular air space surrounding the motor housing. In some instances, this reduced air flow to the single wheel enclosing the motor, such as wheel 21, dictates that the partition Ztl of the blower wheel should be moved off-center and toward the motor sothat the wheel 21 is smaller in size than the other wheel 22. becauseof the difierence in air handling capacity.

The mounting bracket 15 for the motor is best illustrated in FIGURE 3 of the drawing as comprising a pair of annular end cups 227 and 28 that are joined together by a series of three radially spaced supporting arms 29,

- 30, ,and 31 which are adapted to encompass the motor same plane as the supporting arm and also lies in a v as for a 9" blower, and the other opening 34 is used for tangent to the inner edge of the inlet opening 19 of the blower housing as is best seen in FIGURE 4. This mounting ear 32 has a pair of attaching openings 34 and 35. One such opening such as 35 is used for small size motors a motor for a 10" blower.

Each end of the motor 13 is provided with a boss portion 36 that encircles the bearing (not shown) for the motor shaft. Over this boss portion 36 is forced a sleeve member 37 of resilient material such as rubber or the like. The purpose of the force fit is to prevent relative movement between the motor boss 36 and the sleeve 37. One modification would be to form internal gear teeth 38 on the inner periphery of the sleeve 37 ior mating engagement with an external gear teeth configuration (not shown) on the boss portion 36. Cooperating with each sleeve member 37 is an adjacent end cup such as end cup 27 in FIGURE 4. Each end cup is provided with a series of lancings or burrs 39 and corner gussets 40 so that when a compressive force is exerted against the end cups 27 and 28 these projecting portions 39 and 4% will form indentations in the resilient sleeve 37 thereby gripping the sleeve and preventing relative rotation between the sleeve and end cup and hence between the motor 13 and mounting bracket 15.

Each supporting arm 29-31 is formed in the same way of two separable parts 42 and 43 of L-shape in side view where one end of the L-shape 42 is made integral with the end cup 27 as at 44, while the other end is in overlapping relation with the other end of the second L-shaped member 43 as at 45. Each part 4-2 and 43 is formed of channel stock that is inwardly facing toward the axial center line of the motor. The channel stock for the part 42 is slightly smaller than the channel stock for the overlying part 43 so that member 42 slips into member 43 in a close fitting relationship that has little or no play. Fastening screws 33 and 46 are provided to extend through one of a large number of openings 47 in the outermost member 43 into a smaller number of Wider spaced openings 48 in the underlying member 42 so that a fine adjustment of the spacing between the end cups 27 and 28 can be made.

Having described above my mounting bracket used in the environment of a double inlet blower apparatus it will readily be apparent to those skilled in this art that the invention is the culmination of combining various features to derive a design of maximum utility, operativeness and acceptance. The channel stock used for both the separable parts 42 and 43 as well as for the angular mounting ear 32 contributes a great deal to the success of the design. The channel shape of the separable parts operate as guide-ways to insure perfect parallelism of the end cups 27 and 28, and when the fastening screws 33 and 46 are tightened in place the supporting arms 29-31 function as rigid members with a high degree of rigidity and stableness. It is to be noted that the mounting ears 32 are of wider stock than the larger size separable part 43 so that the flanges of the mounting ear straddle the flanges of the part 43 and thus stabilize the mounting ear and prevent relative rotation of the mounting ear about the longitudinal axis of the fastening screw 46.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art therefore it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A blower assembly comprising a blower wheel, a housing for said wheel having at least one inlet opening at an end thereof for said wheel, a motor located in the inlet opening and of smaller diameter than said inlet to provide an annular air inlet passage that surrounds the motor, said motor having a drive shaft extending within said housing and directly connected to the wheel to form the support thereof, a mounting bracket for said motor including a pair of spaced end cups and a series of radially spaced supporting arms joining the end cups together, where each arm comprises a pair of L-shaped channel members which have overlapping portions that telescope one within the other in order to obtain axial adjustability, where both channel members of each arm are fastened to one of the end cups respectively, and fastening means for attaching the mating channel members of each arm to each other, each end of the motor having a boss portion, an annular sleeve of resilient material seated in each end cup and encircling the adjacent boss portion of the motor, each end cup having a roughened inner surface, the channel members being fastened together in a manner to place the resilient sleeves in compression and thereby prevent the motor from turning with respect to the mounting bracket, and each supporting arm including an angular mounting ear that is tangential to the mouth of the blower inlet opening at a point of attachment thereto, and fastening means cooperating with the mounting ears for holding the mounting bracket to the blower 7 housing.

2. The sub-combination of a mounting bracket for use with a blower motor comprising a pair of axially spaced annular end cups and a series of at least three radially spaced supporting arms joining the end cups together, each end cup being adapted to fit over a boss portion adjacent the motor shaft bearing, and sleeve means of resilient material adapted to be interposed between the end cup and the adjacent boss portion, each supporting arm being formed in two parts of generally L'shape made from two different size stock of channel cross-section where one channel part is of smaller size to slide into a mating channel part which is of larger size, the end of each L-shaped part opposite the overlapping end being made integral with one of the end cups, and fastener means for clamping the overlapping portions of the L- shaped parts together to form a motor cage, each supporting arm including a mounting ear that is adapted to be fastened to a stationary support.

3. A blower assembly comprising a double inlet blower wheel, a transverse partition within said wheel blocking the flow from one end thereof to the other, a blower housing for said wheel having inlets at each end thereof, a motor located in one inlet opening and of a smaller diameter than said inlet to provide an annular air inlet passage that surrounds the motor, the motor having a drive shaft with means for attaching said wheel partition to said shaft; the invention comprising a mounting bracket for said motor having an axially spaced pair of annular end cups and a plurality of radially spaced supporting arms joining the end cups together, each end cup being adapted to fit over a boss portion at each end of the motor and an annular sleeve member of resilient material encircling each motor boss and being interposed between the motor boss and the related end cup of the motor bracket, the sleeve members being placed under compression to prevent relative rotation of the motor with respect to the mounting bracket, each supporting arm being formed in two parts of L-shaped formation for encircling the motor where one end of each L-shaped part is made integral with an end cup while the opposite end overlies the opposite end of the mating h-shaped part, and adjustably mounted fastening means for clamping together the said overlapping ends, each L-shaped part being of channel-shaped transverse cross-section, one part being slightly smaller than the mating part so that they telescope together and gain rigidity from each other, each supportin arm including an angular mounting ear in the axial plane thereof, and fastening means extending through the mounting ears and adapted to hold the mounting bracket to the blower housing.

4. A blower assembly comprising a double inlet blower wheel, a housing for said wheel having an inlet at each end thereof for said wheel, a motor located in one of said inlets and of smaller diameter than said inlet, said motor having a drive shaft extending within said housing and forming the support for said wheel; the invention comprising a mounting bracket for said motor including a pair of axially spaced annular end caps each receiving a cylindrical boss of said motor, a plurality of spaced axial supporting arms joining the end caps together, an annular sleeve of resilient material forced to fit over each boss and seated in the adjacent cup, each cup having inwardly projecting portions which form indentations in the related sleeve when the sleeve is placed under compression thereby preventing the rotation of the motor with respect to the motor bracket, each supporting arm being fabricated from two separable parts of L-shape in side view, where one end of each part is made integral with one of the end cups and the opposite end of each part is in overlapping relation with the opposite end of the other part, each L-shaped part being formed of channel stock where the L-shaped parts of one end cup are r a slightly smaller than the L-shaped parts of the other cup so that one set of parts slip into the other set in te1e- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,686,630 8/54 Burrowes 230-117 2,711,285 6/55 Burrowes 2301l7 2,923,460 2/60 Galaba 230-117 2,936,947 5/60 Staak 230-4 17 LAURENCE V. EFNER, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT M. WALKER, Examiner. 

1. A BLOWER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A BLOWER WHEEL, A HOUSING FOR SAID WHEEL HAVING AT LEAST ONE INLET OPENING AT AN END THEREOF FOR SAID WHEEL, A MOTOR LOCATED IN THE INLET OPENING AND OF SMALLER DIAMETER THAN SAID INLET TO PROVIDE AN ANNULAR AIR INLET PASSAGE THAT SURROUNDS THE MOTOR, SAID MOTOR HAVING A DRIVE SHAFT EXTENDING WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE WHEEL TO FORM THE SUPPORT THEREOF, A MOUNTING BRACKET FOR SAID MOTOR INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED END CUPS AND A SERIES OF RADIALLY SPACED SUPPORTING ARMS JOINING THE END CUPS TOGETHER, WHERE EACH ARM COMPRISES A PAIR OF L-SHAPED CHANNEL MEMBERS WHICH HAVE OVERLAPPING PORTIONS THAT TELESCOPE ONE WITHIN THE OTHER IN ORDER TO OBTAIN AXIAL ADJUSTABILITY, WHERE BOTH CHANNEL MEMBERS OF EACH ARM ARE FASTENED TO ONE OF THE END CUPS RESPECTIVELY, AND FASTENING MEANS FOR ATTACHING THE MATING CHANNEL MEMBERS OF EACH ARM TO EACH OTHER, EACH END OF THE MOTOR HAVING A BOSS PORTION, AN ANNULAR SLEEVE OF RESILIENT MATERIAL SEATED IN EACH END CUP AND ENCIRCLING THE ADJACENT BOSS PORTION OF THE MOTOR, EACH END CUP HAVING A ROUGHENED INNER SURFACE, THE CHANNEL MEMBERS BEING FASTENED TOGETHER IN A MANNER TO PLACE THE RESILIENT SLEEVES IN COMPRESSION AND THEREBY PREVENT THE MOTOR FROM TURNING WITH RESPECT TO THE MOUNTING BRACKET, AND EACH SUPPORTING ARM INCLUDING AN ANGULAR MOUNTING EAR THAT IS TANGENTIAL TO THE MOUTH OF THE BLOWER INLET OPENING AT A POINT OF ATTACHMENT THERETO, AND FASTENING MEANS COOPERATING WITH THE MOUNTING EARS FOR HOLDING THE MOUNTING BRACKET TO THE BLOWER HOUSING. 